Friday, December 19, 2008

Is That An Ultrasound Probe, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

We met with the Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) this morning. When I called originally they asked that we make the appointment in the middle of my cycle. The appointment includes a one hour consultation to discuss our test results and an ultrasound for me to monitor my follicles and to make sure I didn't have any cysts. The follicle is the fluid sac within the ovary that contains the egg, and is best measured towards the middle of your cycle. Now that I think about it I should have asked for a print out so that you could see what a phenomenal uterus I have. Doc said everything looks perfect. The main reason why that is relevant is because Brian's semen analysis was extremely abnormal. He's got the trifecta of bad results and it looks like our only option of conceiving a genetic child of our own would be through Invitro Fertilization with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection or IVF w/ ICSI. So I'm hoping the fact that my plumbing is in great shape gives us a much higher percentage that the IVF would be successful. And its all ours for the low, low price of $15,000ish. Did I mention how lovely you look today? That shirt is... something else... It really brings out your eyes. And that wallet, it looks so heavy, let me hold that for you... There, that's better....
SUCKAAAH!

Ugh. So yes, there is a shot in hell for us. And it does accept Mastercard or Visa. But the thing is, the monetary gamble is not the scariest part. The potential devastation we face if it doesn't work - is unthinkable. So needless to say we aren't quite ready for that yet. Emotionally or financially. So we are back to square one. Taking some much needed time off...

Friday, December 12, 2008

Just Say No

I have a relatively simple question for you. When are you going to have kids? 

In the past I always answered this honestly, but vaguely with "someday".  Brian and I have since decided that we would be pretty honest from now on, especially because this question would be coming mostly from people we know. But what do we say to strangers? People we've just met who ask very innocently if we have children at all.  It's already happened to me twice in the last week and so far I've just given a simple no. Brian thinks that I could come across smug and selfish by not explaining that we actually want them, and tried, but that it didn't work out for us. I however predict crickets during the BIG. GIANT. AWKWARD. pause from the people we JUST met who now know that we are barren. Infertile. Childless, not necessarily by choice.  Is it fair to saddle complete strangers with the news of our hardship? I would feel terrible if I just met someone then apologized for my cold and they said "Oh, don't worry about it, I have a rare form of extremely aggressive cancer".... 

So help a girl out. Will at  least one of the six of you that read this blog leave me a comment with your opinion, or suggestion?

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Clarity

Writing yesterdays post was easier than I thought it would be. It also felt better than I thought it would. I don't feel sad anymore. I feel free.

The dust is still settling on life we thought we would have created together, but amongst the ashes is another one. Together, of course. The agony I felt month after month when I realized that something I thought I felt and loved never actually existed, is beginning to fade. And the horizon looks clear, and wide open.

There are still so many questions running through my head. The "what ifs" that I can't escape, the "what nows" that I try to focus on. I think about the fact that we still have options, but I flinch when I realize the roller coaster of emotions that would come with it, and the odds that are stacked in its favor. I think about the fact that the lines in our families may stop with us. If my brother never has children, or if Brian's brother never has children. That's it. I think about how much this will weigh on our families, especially our parents, when they realize they may never have grandchildren, at least not by us. And the list goes on...

When will I stop thinking about it everyday?

Will I always have this kind of resolve?

Should we come right out and tell people, like we've just booked a trip to Mexico, or should we wait until it's a topic of conversation?

Will sending out Christmas cards with my dog's picture only remind people that we can't have children?

What will become of the friendships we have once more of our friends start having kids?

How will I feel I at Baby Showers and children's Birthday parties?

What in gods name will I write about now???

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Nope.

This is probably the last time I will write one of these posts. The results from the tests show that we are very unlikely to conceive without medical intervention. Brian and I have decided that we do not wish to pursue treatments at this time. Man that sounded litigious. I didn't mean it that way. Let me start over.

I'm not going to post about when I get my period anymore. Brian and I are going to be D.I.N.K.'s (Double Income, No Kids) or better yet: Aunt Liss and Uncle Brian. Before you freak out, let me say a few things.


A.We are very aware that there are other options, medical procedures, adoption, etc.
2.We are not closing the doors on having children forever, but this is our plan through at least 2009.
C.We don't need your input, we need your support.

This has been an excruciatingly painful year. Having been a basket case, and hyper-focused on one goal has been extremely difficult on our marriage. It's affected everything from my overall happiness to my job performance. We can't live like that anymore. The strain is just too unbearable. The test results have brought us to a new level of closeness in so many ways. Brian and I have really bound together and feel immensely connected. We have taken this decision very seriously and talk about it nightly. It's something we both think about through out the day.

We have an appointment to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist on December 19Th. But basically just to get some information. We will begin telling our families in the coming days. Some of them may even begin visiting this blog. I welcome that. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on everything I've left behind in the last 16 months: Me, my husband, friends and family. I'm going to appreciate the Holiday's and take one day at a time. I need that.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Speechless.

I have a whirlwind of thoughts flying through my head right now. There are so many topics that I feel I need to cover but I don't even know where to start. Friday we received the results from the first round of testing. They were not good. I'm not sure what I want to post at this point. But I needed to say something. Anything.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

If you're pregnant, drop everything you're doing and throw it in my face please

I know it's because I'm hypersensitive to it right now but GOOD GOD other peoples pregnancy news is EVERYWHERE. In the last week I have purposefully avoided the regular sites that I go to because I needed a break from hearing about anything to do with reproduction. Then at lunch today I decided to give people.com a once over and the top story is Pete Wentz calling his newborn son "A Happy Accident". That's fantastic. I quickly closed the browser and figured I'd go to one website where I could find someone struggling like me, someone who like 19 days ago posted about getting her period, someone I didn't think would now be posting about morning sickness. The Infertility Diaries at Redbook.com. Evidently the period she posted about was implantation bleeding. I know that I should be happy for her, but today- I am not. I know my last post was pretty pathetic and sad. But I hope that this one exudes anger. I'm so angry and frustrated and exhausted from feeling my feelings and thinking about getting pregnant and more over, not being pregnant. I really want to scream. I just feel so jaded. I feel done. Like it may never happen for us and I'm okay with that it if means I can get my life back. My train of thought back. My emotions under control, or at the very least reasonably contained. FUCK.

Monday, December 1, 2008

A Long December

I can't wait for this year to be over. I know everyone complains about how time goes so quickly- "I can't believe it's almost Christmas", and so on.  But this has been a very long year for me. For us.  A long and disappointing year. Every month giving me a two week block of time where I swear I can feel the earth spinning that much slower.  

What is it about this month that presents the motion to reflect on what exactly you've made of your life in the last 48 weeks?  I wish I could forget it all. I know having gone through all of this made me that much stronger, I can at least see that. But the amount that I've grown will never fill the void that I feel. Like a flightless bird.  I feel broken.